There's an old thought experiment that goes, "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, is there a sound?" We can butcher the words around to say, "If there's a cool hot rod in your garage that nobody can see, what's the point?" The saying may be entirely hacked at this point, but the meaning is still there. The readers who answered our photo contest call for pix and specs of their muscle cars (way back in our June issue) may have been out of their comfort zone in the role of photographer, but perhaps they felt more comfortable in the role of philosopher—clearly they got the idea that it's not a real hot rod (or a teapot for that matter) until people actually see it.

Street machines and muscle cars are all about being seen. Even the guy with the lowliest jalopy knows this. Take any mid-1970s rust-pile Camaro out on the freeway and all the cars in your neck of traffic will practically wreck themselves trying to get a glimpse of it. (We know firsthand from when we bought Project g/28, our old 1976 Camaro project car.) It's funny to think the guy with the shiny new Lexus is making $700-a-month payments, but you're getting all the looks, be that as it may, with a $700 car.

And while we're on the subject, the truth is, most guys with hot rods can't and don't spend $900,000 on a muscle car—the reality is closer when you chop a couple of zeros off the end of that number. There is arguably a disproportionate amount of attention on feature cars in the six-figure range—heck we're even seeing them seven figures. As we've pointed out before, there's a lot of amazing design and fabrication going on there by teams of extremely talented people, and it's certainly worth a closer look. Nevertheless, the real-world machines in our garages are the ones that are closest to our hearts. These don't get nearly the attention they deserve from the media, and we aim to fix that with our annual Popular Hot Rodding Photo Contest sponsored by Auto Meter.

Take for instance the winning entry sent in by Wilber Laboy of Las Vegas. It's a 1974 Ford Maverick—not exactly the go-to model you automatically reach for when contemplating your next street machine build. But here's the thing, when a car has become so woven into the fabric of your life, especially your formative years, emotions and ideas run deep, and it paints your view of the automotive world in colors that can't be seen by just anybody, unless you are, perchance, another Maverick guy. That's a special connection that just doesn't happen unless you've got a guy willing to take a picture (and a mag willing to print it). To that end, we're hoping that everybody who sent us a usable photo enjoys that cool moment when somebody comes up to you at a gas station, message board, or a car show and says, "hey, I saw that car before!" You will feel about 10 feet tall when that happens.
You may not like every single car in this month's Readers' Rides story, but we're betting there are enough nice toys here to show you what is possible on a regular-guy budget. Who knows, you might even pick up a new idea or two, and that '74 Maverick for sale down the road might look just a little bit different to you now!

Auto Meter Custom Shop Gauges
Until very recently, if you wanted custom gauges for your ride, you had to pay dearly for them—if you could even find someone to do them. Only the most lavishly equipped machines on the show car circuit had one-off instrumentation. Then about three years ago, Auto Meter came up with a great idea: set up a custom shop for automotive gauges. The Auto Meter Custom Shop lets customers design their own gauges with unique color faces, ticking, pointers, cover glass, fonts, bezels, and lighting. If it's part of a gauge, the Auto Meter Custom Shop can do it for you. After logging on to the Auto Meter Custom Shop website, just download the Custom Shop configurator, and start picking out your gauges with all their features. As you build your dream gauge package, the gauges take shape right on the screen. You can try out several different designs, save them for future reference, or compare them. You can even print them out and try them in your car before ordering. And all while you're building your virtual gauges, the cost is updated and displayed with every revision. You'll also be surprised how affordable it is. Once you order them, they'll show up at your door in a beautiful handcrafted wood box.

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We want to thank the crew at Auto Meter for making custom gauges within reach for the average guy, and for sponsoring our 2013 Photo Contest. The prize—$800 toward the purchase of Auto Meter Custom Shop gauges—is enough to cover all but the most elaborate gauge combinations. Congrats to reader Wilber Laboy of Las Vegas for winning this monster prize—we know his silver and purple 1974 Maverick will put the Custom Shop configurator through its paces!

Winner
1974 Ford Maverick
Wilber Laboy
Las Vegas, NV

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When it comes to winning PHR's annual photo contest, it really does come down to the photos. Wilber Laboy's Maverick is a very cool, nicely done car that has to be an absolute riot to drive, but beyond that, notice the time and care taken to find a great location, to dramatically light the car with multiple reflectors and flashes, and to create interesting compositions. There's a reason this Maverick pops off the page as you look through the 2013 entries; there's way more than snapshotting going here, and it shows in the final result.

This Maverick has been a long time coming for Wilber. His brother originally purchased it back in 1982 as a light green six-banger commuter. With three teenage boys in the house, that didn't last long, though. Within a few years, the sixer had been yanked in favor of a modified 351 Windsor, loud exhaust, slicks on the rear, and an assortment of custom gauges in the dash. The Maverick was a source of fun for a while, until all the brothers moved out and on with their lives and it was stored in Wilber's parents' garage. It wasn't forgotten, though; when Wilber finished technical college and bought a house in the Chicago suburbs with his wife, the Maverick moved along with them.

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From the start, Wilber swore the little Maverick would never see snow, so it lived in the garage while the daily driver sat outside. With his wife's blessing, Wilber tore it apart and began a several year build filled with thousands of hours of work, including the nine-point 'cage, sheetmetal interior, fiberglass quarter-panels, 9-inch rearend, and, of course, the monster 8-71 blown 427ci Windsor backed by a Lenco five-speed.

The years flashed by and now Wilber, his wife, daughter, and the Maverick all live in the mountains of Las Vegas. Twenty-five years of building, changing, and tinkering have resulted in what is affectionately referred to by his family as "Dad's man-sized model car." Not only because the radical little Maverick looks like a life-size Hot Wheels, but because just when it's all put back together, the gears start turning for yet another modification. But that's hot rodding for ya.

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These days all of the Laboy brothers live in the Las Vegas area, and the Maverick rolls out regularly to car shows. "Although we may be older, we revert back to those three teenage brothers when we share our cars' journey with other enthusiasts," Wilber says. And the journey continues every time a catalog with a new interesting part arrives in the mail!

Ever since he was a teenager back in the 1960s, Larry Rhea has had a burning desire to build a gasser-style hot rod of his own. Like a lot of guys of his generation, military service, work, and raising a family (and putting five kids through college!) put building his gasser on the back burner. Now that Larry is retired and the kids are out of the house, he finally has the extra time, money, and a green light from his wife, to make his dream come true.

Larry spotted this 1961 Falcon sitting under a tree on a country road. There wasn't a "for sale" sign, but he took a chance and knocked on the door anyway to inquire if it was available. Turns out it was, and after a bit of negotiating, Larry loaded the Falcon onto his trailer and hauled it home.

Once back at his shop, Larry did a complete teardown on the Falcon and built a rotisserie for the body. Over the next three years it slowly morphed into the gasser it is now. It still needs a paintjob and an interior, but Larry hit a point in the build when he was really ready to just get out and have a little fun with it. As a retired pilot, Larry took the call sign used by British Airways flights for the project: Spd-Brd.

Even in its unfinished state, Spd-Brd gathers a ton of attention whenever Larry takes it out, and never fails to get at least one thumbs-up. But it's not just cruising for this Falcon; Larry enjoys getting it out on the dragstrip as well. It is a gasser after all. He's still getting used to the car and dialing in the chassis, but so far the Falcon has been good for 7.27 at 93.87 in the eighth-mile, and 11.86 at 118 in the quarter.

"I'll never forget the first time I saw Jim Bell's Vega," Jerry Gary tells us. "It was voted as one of 'America's Best Hot Rods' in the April issue of Popular Hot Rodding in 1986. Jerry was already into Vegas, and this wildly painted custom with a Z28 302 and a trick TH400 was the coolest he'd ever seen. It was his dream car.

Almost 26 years later to the day, Jerry was browsing Craigslist when he saw a Vega with a familiar paintjob. Jerry called immediately and when the owner said he was home and Jerry could stop by, he left work right then. The Vega was sitting in the corner of a garage covered with dust and racing stickers, and in need of some TLC. Jerry glanced under the car and saw the chromed suspension and cautiously asked if it was an old show car. The owner pulled out a copy of the Apr. '86 issue of PHR and Jerry realized he was looking at his old dream car. He immediately left a deposit to buy it.

After posting about his find on a couple websites, one of Bell's friends got in touch with Jerry and said that Bell would love to catch up regarding the Vega. Jerry was ecstatic to not only get to talk to the guy who built his dream car, but also get details on how to restore it back to its show car glory. Jerry has also spoken with Dusty Palmer, who originally painted the Vega, and continued showing it for a while after purchasing it from Bell. Matter of fact, Jerry tells us that both Bell and Palmer are planning a road trip to come visit the Vega soon, and bringing some original parts from the show car days. So not only does Jerry get to be the guy who saves his dream car, he also knows it'll be exactly as he imagined it in the end. You really couldn't ask for a better home or more ideal set of circumstances for an old show car.

This fastback Mustang may have been born on January 12, 1968, as a GT with a J-code 302 and four-speed trans, but Dennis and Laureen Piechorowski saw what it could have been if the original buyer had checked off a few more boxes when ordering it. What they envisioned was a 1968 Shelby that stayed very true to the original cosmetically speaking, but also dabbled just enough in modern technology under the skin. Using the limited edition GT350SR continuation cars Shelby produced a few back to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the cars, the Piechorowskis sought to infuse that formula into their 1968 and build a car that had the right 1960s brute feel and sound, but with even more power. It took seven years of hard work and patience, but the Piechorowskis say they've created a car that Shelby would be proud to have his name and GT350SR badge on. We absolutely agree.

After her husband built a few GTO projects for himself, Barbara Cooper-Schaeffer decided it was time to have her own. Rather than a Poncho, she went for a 1965 Cutlass convertible that she found in Luckey, Ohio. It was a lucky find too; the Olds was solid with a strong engine, so they only needed to replace some gaskets, add dual exhaust, and drop in a Turbo 400 trans with a shifter conversion from ShiftWorks to replace the two-speed. That took it from an 18-second e.t. to a 15! After that, it was cosmetic work and a new interior. Barbara drives the Cutlass everywhere and has racked up a First in a local show, and an impressive Second Place finish at the Dick Miller Oldsmobile Nationals. "When driving, I always have people wave, toot their horns, and take pictures with their cell phones," Barbara says. "My husband thinks they are looking at the car, but really it's the hot chick behind the wheel. After all, I'm only 67!"

Back in the 1980s, Randy Davis and his dad, Fred, rescued this 1966 Cyclone as a roller. They went to Ford swap meets at the Ohio State Fairgrounds to find all the missing parts since nothing was reproduced for these cars back then. During the build process they noted a few odd things that led them to believe the Cyclone could be an old racer. First off, it has a towhook on the front, and brackets are welded to the rearend and frame that are obviously for a traction device. There was also deformation in the trans tunnel consistent with violent U-joint or driveshaft breakage. Randy and Fred handled all the stripping and bodywork, along with rebuilding the 390 and four-speed. A friend handled the red re-spray, while another re-covered the seats and door panels. Randy and Fred are still building projects together on a budget with swap meet parts, and each one gets a "Fast Fred's" decal.

Did you know that a little Nash Rambler is not as fast as a Cadillac? Mary Ann Harman does; her first car was one, but she always had aspirations toward something more muscular. Eventually she married a car enthusiast and when he retired, he got his dream car: a 1932 Ford roadster. One of the many projects in the build was a custom interior, and the upholsterer who did the 1932 taught a seminar on how to do it yourself. Mary Ann and her husband attended. Mary Ann was inspired and felt it was time to have her own dream car: an Olds 442 convertible. When they found the right car, she designed, sewed, and installed a complete custom interior and added wood to the dash and console. It took a while to complete, but the 442 gets lots of compliments on the gorgeous white interior and even took a "Best Interior" award at a recent show.

Do you have a favorite year for cars? For Gene Lyons, it's apparently 1955. He had a 1955 T-bird he was building, but ended up trading it for this 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Originally a California car, the 1955 had only been in Tulsa for about six years when he traded for it. He pulled the heads off the 327ci and had them magnfluxed, decked, and new valves and springs installed to accommodate the aggressive cam he had in mind. Paired with a geardrive, headers, and Flowmaster mufflers, you can definitely hear it coming! For the look, Gene wants it to stay old school, so the metallic blue paint and flames are set off by Cragar S/S wheels and the interior is a traditional pleated vinyl. He still has a few more custom touches in mind, such as a custom grille, a bit more rake to the stance, and maybe some new wheels and tires.

When retirement came 'round, Steve Clark knew he needed to find something to occupy his time, so he and his wife went to car shows looking for the right car for sale. They zeroed in on a clean 1955 Chevy two-door. Steve dove right into it and swapped in a 383ci small-block engine, four-speed trans, 9-inch rear, Vintage Air, and Cragar wheels. Six months later he had a good-looking car, but not quite what he wanted, so he sold that 2955 and picked up another to build from the ground up. This time it was a father/son project and more aggressive. The firewall was moved back 4 inches to clear the big-block, and the rear framerails were moved in 5 inches per side to make room for big tires. The whole project took an unexpected two and a half years, but the result is one very low, loud, and scary fast 1955!

John Kukuta first laid eyes on this '71 Chevelle at a car show 30 miles from his home. It had a freshly built 396 big-block Chevy underhood and a "for sale" sign. John had to have it. After a brief testdrive a deal was struck, and he was on his way home happy. That is until a few miles down the road when the temp gauge shot up. John shut it off and let it cool. When he restarted and got back on the road, the temp gauge soon climbed again and brought a tapping noise with it. He shut it down and called a tow truck. The seller agreed to have the engine taken back to the shop for warranty work. John dropped it back in afterward, but it never ran well. Back out it came for another rebuild. This time an errant nut made its way into the engine during reinstallation and destroyed cylinder No. 1. Maybe it was bad juju. The Chevelle now has a 454 in it that has been trouble-free.

Back in 1974, Gary Karn picked up this well-loaded 350, three-speed '70 Nova for $600 with 80K on the clock. Since then it's been his ongoing project and driver. He initially added cruise control and a CB for taking trips, as well as front and rear seats from a LeMans, a custom center console with Auto Meter gauges, an LT-1 hood, Hooker side pipes, and Western Slot wheels. In that shape, the Nova was good for 14-second quarter-mile times at US30 and Oswego dragstrips. After a few more years of driving and road trips, Gary swapped in a four-speed and 12-bolt rear and had a 4-bolt 350 built and prepped for a blower. It took a few more years of saving to get the Dyer's 6-71 huffer, then the engine was pulled and dyno tuned to 575 hp. While it was out, Gary repainted the Nova Antique Green. Other than losing the side pipes and changing a lot of rear tires, the Nova has been roughly the same for the past 33 years and is still driven regularly.

We're pretty sure this is the baddest Opel ever built. It didn't start that way, though. Ricky Slade's original plan was to restore this Opel GT to resemble the one he had back in college, but Hurricane Katrina changed that. After being submerged in 20 feet of water in his garage and ruining almost everything, Ricky decided to rip it apart and go full custom Pro Touring. Several parts cars, four fenders, four quarter-panels, and two hoods allowed him to stretch the body 4 inches and widen the rear 6 inches to fit 11-inch-wide wheels. The Opel now sits on a custom frame with a Fatman Fabrications Mustang II front suspension and custom four-link rear. Our favorite part, though, is the hopped-up 300hp 215ci aluminum Buick V-8 underhood that provides plenty of power without throwing off the weight balance of the teeny sports car. We liked it so much that we shot it for a feature. Look for more details and pix of Ricky's Opel in the February issue of PHR!

GTX convertibles are pricey and fairly rare, but you can slide into a clever clone of one for much less. Justin Major found that out when browsing eBay. He ran across a mostly done 1969 clone with a very reasonable buy-it-now. The auction was only two hours old, but the bidding was already within a couple hundred of the buy-it-now. Justin got in contact right away to ask a couple questions, then clicked the link to make it his. Rather than wait the lengthy time required to ship it, Justin decided to roll the dice and get a one-way flight and drive the GTX 2,000 miles home through the snow. He has pictures of icicles hanging from the fenders to prove it. The paint and GTX conversion were already done, but Justin redid the interior and began upgrading the performance right away. The next plan is an overdrive trans swap since the 727 is starting to slip a bit.

If this Javelin looks a bit familiar, that's because it was included in our 2012 Readers' Projects special. Right after that hit the newsstands, Michael Pinto got the Javelin running and on the road again. About two weeks later, his mom flew in to visit and meet her new grandbaby, and they took the Javelin to the Unique Tin car show in Longview, Washington. During the cruise portion, Michael let his mom slide behind the wheel and she proceeded to do a block-long burnout in front of the spectators and some (fortunately!) gearhead cops. Turns out mama had way more speeding tickets than Michael's dad and owned several Javelins including a Mustard Yellow 1971 AMX and a Big Bad Orange 1970 with a 360. It's mostly used for cruising, though Michael did run the Javelin in an autocross with the local Porsche club and surprised himself by not coming in last!

FoMoCo fans will know that for a brief period of time, Cougars joined Mustangs in the battle against the GM and Mopar offerings in the world of Trans-Am. Matter of fact, they almost won the 1967 season, but the Mustang teams barely topped them. There was serious consideration of continuing and expanding the Cougar racing efforts, possibly even getting Shelby in on the action, but nothing ever came of it. The Terlingua Racing Team was actually little more than an inside joke between Carroll Shelby and Bill Neale with the logo actually being the crest designed for Shelby's ranch in Terlingua, However, it did provide the color scheme for Jerry Titus' famous 1968 Mustang Trans-Am car. After seeing the car in person, Robert decided to reinvent his Cougar as the Mercury member of the race team. It actually got both Shelby and Neale's approval and carries their signatures.

The search for a new project after selling his Pro Mod Camaro led George Schembri to this 1969 X-11 Camaro. It was just a roller with a 10-point 'cage, no front clip or interior, and it was set up for drag radial racing. That was fine since Schembri had a slightly different idea in mind: Pro Touring handling and looks, but with an old-school big-block and roots blower through the hood. Schembri owns his own shop, so the Camaro received a full rotisserie treatment, but he left all of the Camaro's classic lines stock. Of course, the one cut he did have to do was to the cowl hood so the Weiand blower could slip through. We're seeing a lot more Pro Street/Pro Touring mash-ups lately—we've started calling them Pro Street 2.0. What do you think about the look?

One smart investment turned into another for Butch Gordo when he cashed in an IRA that he purchased in 1975 to pick up this supersharp 1968 Fairlane convertible. He couldn't afford a muscle car when they were new, so he waited patiently and got this one for enjoying his "golden years." This particular Fairlane came from a local drag racer named Tommy Johns. Johns was building it as a daily driver for his wife and had already tackled the paint, interior, and top, but got sidetracked on other projects before getting to the mechanicals. Luckily for Butch, the 68K Nevada car needed little to be dependable, just a PerTronix billet distributor and a Holley carb to get it road ready. It may get an infusion of more muscle later, but for now Butch says it's great for cruising and heading to car shows.

One day while out at a swap meet, Arthur Limbaugh ran across this 1964 Chevelle for sale. Well, sort of, anyway. At the time the Chevelle was just a nice street car that was being sold by a little old lady whose husband had just died from cancer. It was a nice car, but Arthur saw the potential for it to be oh so much more wild. He bought the Chevelle, and as soon as he got it home he began tearing it apart. The idea wasn't so much Pro Street looks as it was pro race with a tag on it. Tom Nelson at Nelson Racing Engines crated the visually stimulating and roofline-high 930hp blown big-block to give it the power cred, while Arthur worked to turn the chassis, body, and interior into something ready to put to use. Arthur didn't say how quick it is now, but we're certain this Pro Streeter is no poser.

Yes, Gary Karn does have two entries this year. During the period where his 1970 Nova was getting the engine rebuilt and the body repainted, Gary needed something to drive. A buddy of his had just bought this 1971 Monte Carlo SS, but then found a Corvette he wanted, so Gary bought the Monte, mainly because it was dark green like his Nova. The Monte was fully luxo-loaded with all the options, but big-block guzzlers were cheap at this time, so he only paid $2,300 for it. After a three-week 5,000-mile trip with a friend, the door of the Monte got dented. Rather than spot paint it, a friend offered to paint it. The paintjob actually ended up launching his restoration shop. Since then, the Monte has remained stock with the original drivetrain, top, trim, and interior. Karn has attended shows with it since the 1980s and has won trophies, and once managed 13-second e.t.'s in the NMCA Heads-Up Stock class. Not bad for an all-original 4,200-pound stocker!

This Chevelle actually went through a three-year frame-off restoration before Tom Tyler met it. The owner was building the car that he wanted since high school, but his cash flow was affected by the recession and he made the decision to sell it. Meanwhile, Tom had just retired from his job as a GM engineer and moved to Ocala, Florida, and parted with his low-miles '75 Corvette. Looking for a replacement, the Chevelle was the first car he went to see and it was built just like he wanted. He purchased the Chevelle thinking it needed nothing. As it turned out, most of the right pieces were there, but they had not been debugged; lots of adjustments and corrections were needed. Tom's wife, Sharon, doesn't understand why he spends so much time working on a restored car, but that's OK, this is Tom's favorite car and Sharon enjoys riding in it.

Mark Brock refers to his project as a "Monza done right," and despite our love of IMSA-styled Monzas, we have to agree with him. His version makes a much sleeker and attractive profile versus stock. As a lifelong, though now retired, street racer, Mark decided to put all his years of experience in what works to make a car quick and driveable into building one last radical street car. His vision was Pro Stock mixed with street rod, which we like the sound of. There are a lot of tricks going with the Monza, but the real visual grabber is the heavily customized fiberglass tilt front end that uses a 1967 Camaro grille and molded in bumper. We love the stretch it gives to the nose. It's no show car though; Mark says the alcohol-injected Monza gets 18 mpg and can easily dip into single-digit e.t.'s.

The story of this 1966 Chevelle is quite simple, Mike Appio says. He wanted a 1966 Chevelle like the convertible he had in high school, except this time he wanted one that wasn't a rolling death trap and could pass more than time on the freeway. He found exactly the right car and exactly the right shop to build it, but when his Chevelle arrived at the Roadster Shop, Phil Gerber had to break the news that it was far too rough. Another car was found and the project got underway with only one can't-miss deadline: It had to be ready for the Anchor Fest show in Centralia, Missouri, in 15 months. This would allow him to show his '66 Chevelle with his stepdad's 1966 GTO. The Roadster Shop delivered, and Mike's Chevelle took Grand Champion and his stepdad's GTO took Third in its class. That award meant a lot to him, but the memories with his stepdad meant more as it was the only show they were able to get both cars to before Mike's stepdad died.

Bill Oertel has owned over 20 Novas, but when he retired in 2002 he finally had the time he needed to find and restore one last perfect Nova. After looking all over the country, the right car turned up only 20 miles away—a 1968 Butternut Yellow Nova Super Sport with a black vinyl roof. It was love at first sight! Bill drove the Nova for a couple years with the 355ci small-block, a four-speed stick, the factory 12-bolt posi, and an original black bucket seat interior. But like all hot rodders, he wanted more. After a new 383ci stroker, five-speed trans, Baer brakes, Heidts suspension, A/C, a smattering of tasteful billet bits, and a refurbished interior with 2006 Pontiac GTO seats in black Italian leather with black ostrich inserts, Bill now has a Nova that will run the quarter-mile in 11.026 seconds at 120.61 mph, and it also wins awards like "Meguiar's Magnificent Masterpiece" at the Goodguys' Midwestern Nationals.